Privacy Policy

The Community and Public Sector Union – PSU Group (CPSU) is a registered employee organisation which represents workers in a variety of industries, including in the Australian Public Service (APS), other areas of Commonwealth Government employment, ACT Public Service, NT Public Service, ABC, SBS, CSIRO, the telecommunications sector, call centres, employment services and broadcasting.

The CPSU collects personal information in order to conduct its business which includes upholding the objects of the union and protecting and advancing the rights and interests of CPSU members. The CPSU operates in the industrial, political, legal and social areas. The CPSU also collects personal information to satisfy the requirements of relevant legislation, including the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009. This includes collecting information for the purpose of conducting elections under that legislation.

The CPSU is committed to protecting your privacy and providing you with information and services relevant to you. The CPSU complies with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). This Privacy Policy should be read in conjunction with the Privacy Act and the APPs.

This Policy also applies to personal information the CPSU collects from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) or any other third party, about you.

Personal information the CPSU collects, holds, uses and discloses
Personal information is collected from individuals by the CPSU and used, held and disclosed for the following purposes:

– membership management and services;
– workplace campaigning, representation and recruitment;
industrial, political, legal and social campaigns consistent with the objects of the union; and
– provision of other services, including industrial representation, education, insurance, financial and similar services.

The kind of personal information collected by the CPSU varies. On joining the CPSU a membership form is completed which contains basic personal information, such as name, address, contact details, qualifications, method of payment and other details relevant to the maintenance of membership records and collection of union dues.

During their membership, a member may need the assistance of the union to deal with individual workplace and membership matters. In those circumstances, further personal information about that matter may be collected for the purposes of industrial representation or the provision of other services.

The CPSU may also collect additional personal information related to an individual’s participation in union issues, activities, campaigns or representational and elected roles. In the course of its recruitment, campaigning and other activities the CPSU may also collect personal information about a non-member.

In providing personal information to the CPSU, persons are taken to have given consent to the treatment of their personal information by the CPSU in accordance with this Policy.

The CPSU collects sensitive information where that information relates to the functions or activities of the CPSU and with the person’s consent. Sensitive information can include membership of a trade union, race or ethnic origin, political opinions or political membership, and health information.

Personal information can be collected through information provided to the CPSU, including through emails, petitions, surveys, meeting attendance sheets, website or social media, and from publicly available information. Where reasonable and practicable this will usually be done by the individual providing the CPSU with the relevant personal information. Such information will be used in a manner consistent with this Policy or with the person’s consent.

The CPSU also collects information about its employees and officials for the purposes of managing its own human resources. This information is used for the management of the employment relationship and comes within the relevant exemption in the Privacy Act. The CPSU receives personal information from candidates for potential employment at the CPSU and that information is only used, held and disclosed for the purpose of considering that person for prospective employment.

Disclosure
In some circumstances the CPSU may provide an individual’s personal information to other organisations, including trade union related organisations or peak bodies. These circumstances could include:

– where it is required or authorised by law;
– organisations contracted to undertake work on the CPSU’s behalf (including information technology providers, print service providers, mail houses); and
– as part of a broader trade union movement campaign which is relevant to our members’ employment and in which the CPSU is participating.

Website
The CPSU websites collect two types of information. The first type is anonymous information. The web server makes a record of each visit and logs the following information for statistical purposes:

– the user’s server address;
– the user’s top level domain name (e.g. com, .gov, .net, .au, etc.);
– the date and time of the visit to the site;
– the pages accessed and documents downloaded;
– the previous site visited; and
– the type of browser used.
The CPSU website has a public space, accessible by any user, and a secure member-only space which is accessible only by CPSU members and requires a password.

No attempt will be made to identify users of the CPSU public website or their browsing activities except where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect the internet service provider’s logs.

To allow the union to assist members accessing the secure website, the CPSU can identify an individual member’s most recent access to the CPSU member-only space. No attempt will be made to track a member’s browsing activities except where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect the internet service provider’s logs.

Another way information may be collected is through the use of “cookies”. A cookie is a small text file from the website that may be placed on the user’s computer. On the CPSU website cookies are used to track logins, sessions, and collect anonymous traffic data.

Users can adjust their Internet browser to disable cookies or to warn them when cookies are being used. However, if they disable cookies, they may not be able to access certain areas of the CPSU website or take advantage of the improved web site experience that cookies offer.

Our websites may contain links to other websites and social media pages including Facebook, Twitter and other sites. We are not responsible for the privacy policies of the entities responsible for those websites and we recommend that users review the privacy policies applicable to any other websites they visit.

Quality
The CPSU takes all reasonable steps to ensure the information it collects is accurate, up-to-date and complete and when this information is used or disclosed it is accurate up to date, complete and relevant.

Security
The CPSU collects and holds personal information in two forms:

– Paper based files; and
– Electronically
Current paper files containing personal information are securely stored. Locked bins are available in each union office for the purposes of security disposal.

Increasingly personal information is only held in electronic files. Electronically-stored information is securely stored and password protected.

All staff are made aware of requirement to store personal information securely.

Openness
The Privacy Policy is available and accessible on the CPSU website. If requested by a person, the CPSU will provide them with a copy of its Privacy Policy.

Access
If an individual so requests, they may access the information held about them by the CPSU. This access would only be limited if:

– the CPSU reasonably believes it would pose a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual or to public health or safety;
– giving access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals;
the request for access is frivolous or vexatious;
– the information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings between the individual and the organisation and would not be accessible through the process of discovery;
– giving access would reveal the intentions of the CPSU in relation to negotiations with the individual and would prejudice those negotiations;
– giving access would be unlawful;
– denying access is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order;
– the CPSU suspects an unlawful activity, or misconduct of a serious nature, that relates to the CPSU’s functions or activities has been or may be engaged in and giving access would likely prejudice the taking of appropriate action in relation to the matter;
– access would likely prejudice one or more enforcement related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body; or
– giving access would reveal evaluative information generated within the CPSU in connection with a commercially-sensitive decision-making process.
If a request for access is made the CPSU will respond within a reasonable period.

If access is denied the CPSU will give the requestor reasons for the refusal and the mechanisms available to seek redress.

To gain access to personal information about you held by the CPSU contact the CPSU Privacy Officer.

Correction
If the CPSU is satisfied that personal information it holds is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, or if a person requests the CPSU correct their personal information, the CPSU will take reasonable steps to correct that information.

If a person requests the CPSU to correct their personal information the CPSU will respond to that request by making the correction or by notifying that person of the CPSU’s refusal to make the correction within a reasonable timeframe. If the request is denied, the CPSU will give the requestor reasons for the refusal and the mechanisms available to complain.

To gain access to personal information about you held by the CPSU contact the CPSU Privacy Officer.

Identifiers
The CPSU records some members’ employee numbers on its membership system. This information is required by individual Commonwealth agencies for the purposes of organising payroll deductions. The CPSU does not adopt or use the employee number as its own identifier.

Anonymity and pseudonymity
Where individuals contact the CPSU with information relevant to the individual and the CPSU, and they do not wish to be identified, the CPSU undertakes to ensure they remain anonymous or pseudonymous, unless it is impractical for the CPSU to deal with the person in this way.

Cross border disclosures
By providing personal information to the CPSU you consent to your information being stored and processed on a data server or data servers (e.g. cloud services) owned by a third party or third parties that may be located outside of Australia. The current CPSU website is hosted by a company based in the United States. The CPSU will take reasonable steps to ensure that any third party providers comply with the APPs. For the purposes of the Privacy Act, the fact that information is routed through servers outside of Australia does not constitute a disclosure of personal information.

Direct marketing
By providing personal information, in accordance with this policy, the CPSU may use and disclose individuals’ personal information for the purposes of direct marketing which may include providing them with information about events, products or services which may be of interest to them.

If individuals do not want us to use their personal information for direct marketing purposes, they may elect not to receive communications.

Complaints handling
The CPSU will deal with any privacy complaint seriously, promptly and confidentially.

If a person thinks the CPSU has infringed with their privacy, he or she will at first instance be directed to the CPSU employee/official responsible. That is, if it relates to a membership matter, it will be referred to the Members Service Centre. If it relates to an individual case, it will be referred to the organiser or official handling the case.

If this does not resolve the issues, the matter will then be referred to the National Secretary or their delegate who will investigate the claim and provide a response and reasons to the person.

The person, if still unsatisfied, may then complain to the Privacy Commissioner. Alternatively, the person may complain at the first instance to the Privacy Commissioner. The Privacy Commissioner has powers under the Privacy Act and associated regulations to conduct an investigation.

Variation
This Policy may be varied from time to time and an updated version will be posted here. Please check this page regularly to access the most recent version of the Policy.

Who to contact
Any privacy related questions can be directed to the Member Service Centre on 1300 137 636 or to the CPSU Privacy Officer, Level 6, 191 Thomas Street, Sydney.